Bio-diversity

The project rationale is that the biodiversity in the Tubah watershed ecosystem, particularly medicinal plants is still a relatively intact woodland savannah ecosystem. It covers an area of approximate 64 square km and extends to the Bambui Palace shrine. It is an agro-ecological zone and of outstanding international importance for conservation of the biodiversity, flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to the Region. The watershed and shrine provide the main habitat for monkeys, antelopes, baboons, bats and the watard eye banama which is unique in the North West. The proposed project site is the Tubah Watershed and Bambui shrine where small holders farming and grazing has traditionally involved intensive grazing, unsustainable harvesting of medicinal plants, slash-and-burn agriculture and unsustainable wild honey harvesting methods. Despite recent achievements in the promotion of sustainable land management and forest conservation activities in the region, there remains much to be done to achieve the long-term goal of sustainable management of resources in the Tubah watershed ecosystem. While more sustainable land use techniques have been available and tested in other areas of the North West Region in recent years, they have yet to be widely adopted among graziers and small scale farmers. Moreover these technologies have not been combined and integrated in a framework that promotes the sustainable use of the watershed as an ecosystem. During the stakeholders workshop held during project preparation in January, 2012 it was confirmed that one of the major obstacles at local level is a lack of experience with an understanding of medicinal plants harvesting and processing, wild honey harvesting and community-based ecosystem management techniques. Besides, the rapid increase in cattle and human population has resulted in an increase in pressure and progressive shortening of fallow periods. This has caused substantial degradation of the vegetation cover and general decline in soil fertility. The decline in soil fertility in turn has led to decrease in food production. The ecosystem biodiversity is increasingly at risk due to deforestation and encroachment. Therefore, ther

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